“A long-term substance abuser, a few months before his death, penned this poem: Went downtown, Hastings and Main, looking for relief from the pain. All I did was find a ticket on a one-way train. ... Give me peace before I die. The track is laid out so well; we all live our private hell; just more tickets on the hell-bound train.” WayGivingWellsLongPainDiesTermHellMonthsGive MeTrainBoundsTrackOne WaySubstanceLong TermReliefTicketsDrunkennessDowntownAbusersBefore I DieSubstance Abuse Author:Gabor Mate
“I drank to be funny, or sexy. I drank because I was afraid or happy or sad, and I drank for anything that required emotional commitment. ... I had chosen a profession that thrives on insecurity, and is never far from some source of social intercourse that involves alcohol or drugs.” SocialEmotionalSourceDrugCommitmentSexyProfessionAlcoholChosenThriveInsecurityDrankIntercourseDrunkenness Author:Lynda Bellingham
“The very same brain centers that interpret and feel physical pain also become activated during experiences of emotional rejection. In brain scans, they light up in response to social ostracism, just as they would when triggered by physically harmful stimuli. When people speak of feeling hurt or of having emotional pain, they are not being abstract or poetic, but scientifically quite precise.” PeopleFeelsFeelingsLightPainSpeakSocialHurtBrainEmotionalResponseAbstractRejectionPoeticPreciseStimulusEmotional PainDrunkennessHurt FeelingsLight UpPhysical PainOstracismSocial Ostracism Author:Gabor Mate
“Deborah, Duchess of Devonshire recounts her decision to leave her husband after decades of struggle with his alcoholism. Several days later, he wrote to her: "The miracle occurred; I realized that in addition to all the suffering I had caused, I was not my own master. I decided this slavery must stop once and for all." And it did.” SufferingMy OwnDecisionStruggleMastersHusbandDecidedMiracleSlaveryDecadesI RealizedAlcoholismDrunkennessDuchess Author:Deborah Cavendish, Duchess of Devonshire
“In her memoir, Anne Robinson recounts the wake-up call which motivated her to stop drinking. Leaving her eight-year-old daughter alone in their car while she went to buy liquor, she returned to find her daughter with tears running down her cheeks. The guilt and horror Ms. Robinson felt at this sight jolted her into sobriety.” YearsRunningFeltCarTearsHorrorDaughterSightWake UpGuiltDrinkingLeavingEightMemoirMotivatedCheeksLiquorDrunkennessSobrietyWake Up CallStop Drinking Author:Anne Robinson
“Booze is flowing all unknowing; grandma downs a few, smiles and giggles happily enjoying her new brew.” EnjoyGrandmaDrunkennessBoozeGiggleUnknowing Author:Francis Norris, 1st Earl of Berkshire
“There is nothing like the camaraderie that one has with fellow drinkers. It is a club you never leave once you join. Well, willingly or easily.” WellsFellowsClubsDrunkennessDrinkersCamaraderie Author:Lynda Bellingham
“I met my fathers in prison, they too a part of a scene; digging death.” DeathFatherDyingMetsScenePrisonDigging Author:Reginald Dwayne Betts
“Suicide is a very permanent solution to what is usually a temporary problem.” ProblemDeathDyingSolutionsSuicidePermanentTemporary Author:Richard Winters
“Men, who achieve much, die as do those who achieve nothing.” MenDeathDiesAchieveDying Author:Clarence H. Burns
